1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets by rotary bodies and a recording apparatus equipped with the sheet feeding apparatus and, more particularly, to a sheet feeding apparatus, a recording apparatus and the like capable of preventing a discharge rotary body from deforming.
2. Description of Related Art
Recording apparatuses such as printers, photocopiers, facsimile machines, and the like, or as output machines for composite electronics apparatus including computers and the like or for work stations, ordinarily include plural rollers for feeding sheets, to guide the sheets to a recording section at which recording means is provided and to feed the sheets out of the recording section. FIG. 12 shows a serial type ink jet recording apparatus as a recording apparatus thus having plural rollers for feeding sheets. In the recording apparatus, a feeding roller 50 feeds onto a platen 51 a recording sheet, to which images are recorded by serially scanning an ink jet recording head 52, and then the recording sheet is discharged outside the apparatus by a discharge roller 53.
Regarding drive power transmission to the feeding roller 50 and the discharge roller 53, a transmission roller 54 resiliently urged in arrow K direction by a spring or the like is made to contact both of the feeding roller 50 and the discharge roller 53, and the drive power transmitted from a power source not shown to the discharge roller 50 is further transmitted to the discharge roller 53 by way of the transmission roller 54.
Although such mechanism in which the drive power is transmitted to the discharge roller 53 by way of the transmission roller 54 makes the structure simple and has benefit that numbers of parts become unnecessary, the discharge roller 53 always receives force exerted in arrow L direction by contact of the transmission roller 54. This force is around 50 to 60 grams load and not so large, but the discharge roller 53 may be deformed in arrow L direction if receiving force exerted in arrow L direction while left for a long period of time. If the discharge roller 53 is thus deformed, the outer periphery of the roller 53 vibrates much more and may affect the feeding of the recording sheet. Accordingly, the strength of the discharge roller 53 needs to be durable against the load exerted from the transmission roller 54. However, where compact and inexpensive recording apparatuses are in demand, the discharge roller 53 may lose the strength when made with a smaller diameter thereof. Otherwise, the discharge roller 53 made of a particular material having such a strength that the discharge roller 53 is prevented from becoming deformed may increase the costs for the roller, so that it still remains as a problem to design recording apparatuses compact and inexpensive.